ROCKFORD — Two companies make their pitches Wednesday to be the city’s next garbage hauler.

It marks the first time in more than a decade that the contract will go out to a competitive bid. The deal with Rock River Environmental Services expires at the end of the year.

There will be two components of the new pact: the cost for collection, to pick up the trash from residences across the city; and the cost for disposal, to dump the trash at a landfill.

The new contract stipulations will offer officials and residents a chance to see what other collection and disposal services are out there and if new technology can help the city find new efficiencies since the last time entered into a garbage contract, Mayor Larry Morrissey said.

Officials will have a variety of collection options to choose from, including whether weekly pickup for each resident will be unlimited or capped at one or two bags of trash; whether the company provides large toters or bins or residents put out their own; how often yard waste or bulk items are picked up; and the size of recycling toters.

RRES and Advanced Disposal will get about two hours apiece to present the services they can offer and information on their fleets and employees, and answer any questions.

“It’s a chance to learn what is state of the art in the industry today,” Morrissey said. “And to find out what types of pricing we might be looking at based on the services requested.”

Once aldermen and staffers choose which services to include in the next contract, they will ask the companies to bid to see who can provide the better cost.

Rockford is charged by the ton for waste collected and dumped at Winnebago Landfill, which is operated by RRES.

Haulers collected 68,493 tons of waste in Rockford last year; the total: $6.25 million. The city bills households $15.50 a month for the collection.

Residents have unlimited collection, meaning they can put out any number of bags or bins as well as bulk items, such as couches or rugs.

Ald. Venita Hervey, D-5, wants to keep that provision.

“I don’t want to go back to how it was before we had bulk pickup, when junk was sitting on the curb for weeks at a time,” she said. “With bulk pickup every week, it really cuts down on illegal dumping.”

Ald. Frank Beach, R-10, wants a plan and a cost that’s similar to what Rockford has.

“Just because it’s time for a new contract doesn’t mean it’s time to raise prices,” he said. “Let’s just see if we can maintain what we’re doing and if we can get any improvements.”

Page 2 of 2 -
The contract could have a regional impact.

Winnebago County collects a host fee, designated for economic development projects, from haulers that dump at Winnebago Landfill at the county’s western edge. Advanced Disposal’s landfill is about a mile or so west in Ogle County.

Winnebago County got around $3.1 million from its host fee last year, and $111,000 of it was from waste that came from Rockford, according to the county. If the city dumps its waste in the Advanced Disposal landfill, Ogle County will collect that host fee.

Ald. Jamie Getchius, R-2, said his decision will come down to how much residents are willing to spend for the service.

“If you want the Cadillac service, it costs more than if you go with something else,” he said. “And right now we have really good service. You can pretty much put whatever you want on the curbside. We’ll see what comes out of the proposals.”

The presentations will begin at 2 p.m. in the city’s new design center, 313 N. Main St.